What is it to have a mustache?


There are a few of us who may be answer the question. Having a mustache is many things. It is amusing, interesting, repetitive, and a fair amount of maintenance. At times it is quite transformative. I feel that the features and benefits of having a mustache far outweigh the negative effects of its existence.


A few years ago, with a full beard on my face, I headed into the shower trailer for the summer job which I had that August. Looking forward to being clean for the first time in too long, and eager to get rid of my itchy neck scruff I quickly unpacked my shaving supplies. I got to the fun part of having a beard. I've been a fan of sculpture for a while and have long taken advantage of the surface of my face as a medium. It so happened that on that particular day there was a beautiful woman from New York in the trailer. She was lotioning up after her bathing ritual, and took note of the state of my face. She blurted out "You should leave the mustache".


I did. For the next several weeks, every time I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror, I would giggle a little. I came back from my summer job and saw all of my city slicker friends. All of the reactions to "the mustache" involved amusement. The mustache stayed.


Having a bunch of hair coming from the upper lip is, at the very least, interesting. The entire phenomenon of mustaches is rather intriguing. Why hair on just the upper lip? What purpose does it have? The growth of my mustache is not entirely even. Learning how to curl the ends was fascinating. People are always curious how the handlebars work.


Which leads me to the repetitive part. Compliments are lovely. I am often informed of the high quality of my mustache. I hear "Nice 'stache, Bro" perhaps more often than I need to. Often I'm asked to be photographed, or I should say I am often asked if it can be photographed.

I am regularly asked how I get the ends to stay the way they do. Pommade, or mustache wax. Pommade for a quick touch up or an average evening. Wax for performances or other more formal occasions. The actual act of maintence has finally become well practiced and I am not so fearful when making a trim anymore. This being said...

I still believe that the transformation between a waxed and unwaxed mustache to be quite significant. One simple ingredient can do so much.

As a man who grows hair quickly and doesn't especially enjoy shaving, there is sort of a ritual surrounding what I consider "grooming day". I generally shave once a week or so, and trim my mustache about every three weeks. I have gone for much longer without trimming with interesting but cumbersome results.

Now for you dear reader, I will elucidate the process of grooming ending with the addition of mustache wax, which will finish the transformative process.

Gathering supplies and setting the mood:
One Unruly Mustache
Shaving Cream
Razor
Available sink with hot water
Mirror
Scissors
Tweezers
Good music



Lathering around the Mustache:



Framing:




Trim:



(In June 2007, my eyes went spirally, my hand reached for the scissors,
the was the snip sound, and then I came back into myself seeing in my
hand the entire handlebar of the right side of my mustache. I trimmed
down to several other silly styles of mustache before shaving my face
clean. I immediately started growing it back.)


Finer detail on the edge:




Adding wax:



(It took me a while to figure out the easiest methods for applying the wax. For a little while I used a hair drier on high heat. I do not advise this method.)




Done: